Stories from an English Teacher in Juvenile Detention

“The desire for more positive experience is itself a negative experience. And, paradoxically, the acceptance of one’s negative experience is itself a positive experience.” ― Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck It’s been a while, and there’s really no excuse. I created this platform to share stories, to be an advocate, to … More Accepted.

This will be challenging. Each day will have its own hardships. I knew that when I accepted my job. I knew that they would need affirmation, direction, structure and support. I knew that their relationships with education and society would be at best a struggle, at worst – completely shattered. I knew there would be … More I didn’t think. Now, I know. (Here we go)

Teaching – whatever your district, building and students may be – is a passion, a service, a gift to and for others. But in order to pour ourselves out, we must first fill ourselves up. … More Me Time.

-The five of us recently completed a collaborative, interdisciplinary unit. We called it “Social Responsibility & Civic Engagement” – intended to show our students how to be engaged, responsible, active members of whatever society (or microcosm therein) they find themselves to be a part of now and in the future. Each course had a different … More Community (and the lack thereof.)

We’re nearing the end of an interdisciplinary unit with their Health course, and because my students range so vastly in age, ability and length of time in our facility, finishing projects has a few more hurdles than in typical classrooms (not to say projects don’t always present hurdles for teachers, because they always always do). We have … More The (unbelievable) Kindness Diaries

This was a hard week. It started with calling senators, begging them to believe in our schools, our teachers, our students. It ended with rallying cries for teachers to do what we do everyday – to believe, to see good, and to pour ourselves into our work knowing that we won’t be compensated for the extra … More Pressure Makes Diamonds.

Listen: Land of the Free Lyrics: Lyrics On Tuesday, my husband picked me up from Pilates and had a song playing (as he usually does, the man can’t drive without music). We were a few miles down the road before my ears triggered – “Babe, what is this song? I need to teach it.” He goes, “It’s … More Land of the Free

Today, I watched one of my favorite students fly across a table to tackle one of my least favorite students. We called a Code Red, students were restrained and marched up to their rooms where they were locked for an hour while we processed the incident. They came down for lunch, and we narrowly avoided … More Something beautiful

Dear Public School Teacher, I know you have a lot on your plate. Over 100 students, maybe multiple courses, 200 parents or guardians, administration, observations, conferences, IEPs and accommodations, phone calls and emails, professional development, assessments, grading… I get it. I know I’m not there anymore and that’s no longer my world, but I remember … More Dear Public School Teacher

As teachers, we recognize that some of our students will not have the happy, gift-filled holidays we would wish for them. We acknowledge that while we are going to enjoy two weeks of [probably] getting sick as the semester catches up with us, giving us an excuse for staying in bed all day watching Netflix and … More Coal.

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